Bloodlust
by chelseaa'ann
Summary: Gertrude, a girl of sixteen, has been working for the Lepage family her whole life. Her parents were killed by them when she was thirteen. But now, after a series of strange dreams, she is sent to a new family as a peace offering. The Maxwell family. R
1. Forever

I opened my eyes. I looked around the clearing. Off in the near distance, I could see tombstones. I was in a cemetery, but it was not normal by any circumstances. the stones were tall and haunting; beautiful. Hundreds of candles flickered around me, the shadows dancing among the trees like little cloaked men. Said trees stood tall, blocking out the night sky with their leaves and branches. I could hear the occasionally beating of leathery wings above my head.

The short stretch of aisle ahead of me was a dirty worn path littered with rose petals and leaves. And at the end of that path was a coffin, a candelabrum, a silver chalice, and my love. His face was shadowed, but I just knew that he was beautiful. He was dressed in a black suit. Seeing his attire made me look down at mine. I was in a dark blue gown, and judging by how much taller I felt, I guessed I was wearing stilettos. I could tell I was wearing a black veil. In my pale hands was a bouquet of roses. Black roses, to be exact.

I took a step forward. The sudden smell of earth and incense filled my nostrils as I inhaled. Within seconds I was at the altar, I suppose you could call it. My love took my hand in one of his, and the goblet in the other. And in a voice I could only imagine, he said, "Eternally, my blood will flow in you, and yours in me. Eternally, I will take thine as my own, and thou shalt take me, and forever our love will live."

He took a sip out of the chalice. I repeated the words he had spoken, then he held the goblet to my lips. I sipped at the liquid; it tasted like sour death. Still, moments later, I felt like i was floating. The silver cup fell to the ground as a feeling of euphoria blasted through my being. I felt as if cool wax was dripping onto my skin, covering my body. He sank his fangs into my neck, sucking my blood from the wounds. Fangs sprouted from my gums, and I did the same to him mere moments later. We seemed to float into our casket; the lid slid closed, entombing us in total darkness.

"Forever," I whispered into his neck.

"My love, it's time to wake up," he whispered back.

And in a sudden whirl of darkness and light, he was gone.

xXx

"Gertrude , wake up!"

I slowly opened my eyes, looking around my dark room. The clock clanged six times, announcing that it was six PM. Almost instantly I was out of bed and at the door, opening it to see the one calling me. It was Eleanor Lepage, by far the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. Her short black hair was in curls, her pale skin was flawless, and her green eyes were full of life. Wait, no. The eyes of the undead can't have life in them.

"It's time to clean up the dining room," she said, a smirk on her face. Then she practically floated away from me. I shuddered at her cruel words, but nonetheless did as I was told.

In the dining room, the usual supplies and mess waited for me. A mop, cleaning supplies, a black bag, and a mangled, drained corpse lay in the room for me. I got to work. I started off by dragging the woman's body and putting it into the black bag. Two men came and took the bag somewhere; I've never known where.

I did my best to scrub the blood off the marble floor. It was usually easy because it was fresh. The smell of blood and bleach filled my nostrils, the unpleasant aroma invading my senses. Soon enough, something else invaded.

"Hi," said a small voice from the doorway. I looked up. Little Jillian, daughter of Malcolm and Eleanor Lepage stood there, her black hair shining. There was a small spot of blood on her cheek. I motioned for her to come closer, so I could clean it off.

"How did you sleep?" she asked me. But knowing I wouldn't reply, she continued to speak. "I slept okay. Mommy read me a story yesterday morning..."

She continued to talk. I almost felt bad for not replying to her. Almost.

The night went on. I finished cleaning the dining room, then continued on to do finish my other chores. I made coffins, cleaned up around the mansion, the whole bit. My mind remained blank. This is what I am. A servant.

Later around dawn, I tucked Jillian into her coffin. She was my main concern around the house. Even if it meant getting lashings for not finishing my chores, I had to give up whatever I was doing to attend to her. "Goodnight Gertrude,"she said softly. I closed the coffin lid, and made my way to my own bed, hoping, praying, to wake up a free human being, And something told me that in a way, my dream would come true.

Ever since I can remember I'd been dreaming of freedom. My parents worked for this family. And I was conceived in this house. My parents were killed as soon as I was old enough to not need them anymore. But that's not why I hated them. I hated them because even when they were alive they weren't ever there for me. They treated Jillian more like a daughter than me. I had a serious case of sour grapes, but then again, didn't I have the right?

I hated everything that reminded me of them. I loathed my very name. They were terrible parents, and that was the end of it.


	2. Almost Free

¨Gertrude! Wake up!¨

The clock chimed on cue. But, for some reason, it chimed not only six times, but eight. Eight o'clock? Why was I being woken up so late? And the voice at the door didn't belong to Eleanor.

I rushed to the door and swung it open. Malcolm stood there, a small knapsack in his hands. He handed it to me. "Pack your things. You're leaving tonight.¨

My jaw had hit the floor. I was finally leaving?

"You've been here your entire life, and I think it is time you were... sent somewhere new,¨ he said calmly. He continued. ¨A family... friend is in desperate need of a companion for his human daughter Luna, and I have offered that they take you. You need to pack your things. You leave in ten minutes.¨ With that, he waved me away with his hand.

I walked away in a daze. A new home? Human daughter? As I made my way back to my room to pack what little I had, all the while thinking what this new home was going to be like. What was the daughter like?

I threw my change of clothes into the knapsack, along with the clothes I used to wear when they still fit, and a note from my parents. I wanted to shred that note, but instead, I kept it. I may have hated my parents, but it was all I had left of them. Ten minutes flew by. The next thing I knew, the limo was pulling away from the mansion. I'd never seen the outside of it before. Hell, I'd never really been outside.

I sat by the open window and soaked up the night air like I would never be able to again. The mountains that surrounded me were so beautiful bathed in moonlight!

But soon the limo left the mountain range, and arrived at a small airport. I was ushered onto a plane. Biting my tongue as it took off, I wondered where I was being taken. Another city? Another country? And what was this new family like? How old was the human daughter?

My mind was a watering hole for all the unanswered questions that flocked my thoughts. The flight seemed to last forever, and thinking was the only thing that kept me entertained. But when the descent finally began I became restless and nervous. Only a little while longer until I met the family. But something was different now. It was extremely bright outside. It was daytime! The sun shone down on... wherever we are. We were in the middle of a giant clearing, then surrounded by trees. I looked through the trees, and I could see a huge house.

It was beautiful. It was about three stories high, made of stone. As I got closer, I could tell it was not a house, but a castle. A small castle, but a beautiful castle nonetheless.

The strange man that had accompanied me the whole way led me up to the front door. "Miss Maxwell will meet you here." With that, he knocked on the door, and went back to the clearing. I stood silently, waiting for someone to answer the door. The door was tall and wooden with thick steel bands wrapped around them.

About a minute went by. I looked around the property as I waited. I could easily run at this point, but honestly, where could I have gone?

I suddenly heard a noise, and the huge door swung open. A girl with white-blonde hair, pink and black clothes, and pink make up was standing before me.

"You must be Gertrude!" she squealed, throwing her arms around me in a hug. I wasn't sure how to react to this. The only other humans I'd ever come in contact with were my parents, and the corpses I cleaned every morning.

"I'm Luna Maxwell," she informed me, pulling me through the doors. This was Luna? When Malcolm said I would be coming to keep her company, I assumed she was a little girl. "They told me you don't talk. Why is that?"

That question caught me off guard, and kind of confused me a little. If she knew I didn't talk, why did she bother asking me why?

"Oh right, you won't answer me," she giggled. "Oh well. But hey, this is your chance to start new. And that means you can start talking again, and you can change that dreadful name of yours. Forget the past. Move on!"

Oh, if only it were that easy, I thought to myself.


	3. A Spree with Luna

A/N: Sorry it's been so long since I've updated. I've either had a lot going on or I haven't thought of it lol. But I'll try to update more, hopefully there'll be something more up by tomorrow. In the meantime, here's a filler chapter. In fact, I'm even thinking of giving it a different beginning. So I'll put a little note in one of the chapters if i decide to rewrite the beginning lol. On with the story!

xXx

The black granite floor gleamed as if it had been polished not but ten minutes ago. The enourmous sun roof was continuously spattered with rain drops. No lights were on. Luna walked -more like floated- to the grand hourglass shaped staircase. I followed her up the staircase and through the house, distracting myself from her chattering by looking at all the portraits on the dark red walls.

We reached a fork in the halls. On the wall in front of us was a portrait featuring Luna, and four other people who looked a lot like her. Luna and the woman in the painting both had deep blue eyes. The youngest and eldest males both had green eyes. But the teenage boy... his eyes were different. One was acid green while the other was ocean blue, but they both had the same devlish twinkle. His face was thin and handsome. His long-ish blonde hair was blood red at the ends. He had several rings in his eyebrow and ears. To be honest, I couldn't take my eyes off him.

"It was painted by my fiancè." Luna said. I snapped back into reality. "The one you're ogling is Jagger. He's my twin brother." I looked at her apologetically, but she said, "Don't worry. All the girls who see him react that way She pointed to the woman and the man. "That's my mom and dad. And the youngest one there is Valentine, my little brother." She sighed. "All of them are vampires except for me."

An awkward silence followed her words as she walked away from the portrait. I didn't know what to do other than follow. She led me to a short black door and took me through it. I was greeted with black and pink walls covered in posters, a giant bed that could sleep nine comfortably, and desk that held a computer and a beautiful sound system.

"Mi casa e su casa," Luna said, going for the closet. "We've got to give you something else to wear." She stepped into the closet. I waited for a moment, then she stepped out with a pair of black pinstriped pants and a black t-shirt. I stepped into the beautiful bathroom to change.

When I lived in the other house, there wasn't a mirror anywhere. I couldn't remember the last time I'd seen anything that I could call a reflection. So seeing myself was so surreal.

I leant in close to the mirror brought my hand to my face. My fingertips traced the contours of my face, exploring the high cheeks, the nose, the brown eyes, down to the lips. My skin was unbelievable pale, with quite a few red dots everywhere. My hair was a mess. I didn't know what to think about the way I looked.

I finally changed into the clothes, staring at myself the whole I exited the bathroom, Luna was on her computer. She turned and looked at me.

"Much better!" she exclaimed. "Let's see... you still need some clothes of your own. And I _do_ need a new pair of boots.... What do you say we go shopping for a bit?"

I nodded my head just a little. She grabbed a pair of keys, led me out to her car, and we were on our way.

The entire way to town, Luna kept talking about everything she could. But I supposed it was because she felt the need to fill the silence.

She dragged me around the small town, first stopping at a salon so I could get my hair cut. It was shorter, and choppy. She bought me a lot of nice clothes, which is something I'd never had. I hd the clothes I needed at the old house, but not things I actully liked and picked. This is something I could get used to.


End file.
